As the search for the remaining five escapes continued, the Orleans Parish DA said fingerprints and DNA were not collected in a timely manner and asked the sheriff for evidence.
New Orleans Dada talks about prison prisoners fleeing investigations
Orleans Parish District Attorney Jason Williams talks about an investigation into how 10 inmates escaped New Orleans prisons.
- On May 16th, 10 inmates fled the Orleans Parish Prison.
- As of May 21, five people had been recaptured and is being held at the maximum security of Louisiana State Prisons.
- All escapes faced serious criminal charges, including some of the charges of first and second degree murder.
- On May 21, Orleans Parish District Attorney Jason Williams said potential threats from escapees led two prosecutors to leave the state.
NEW ORLEANS – Orleans Parish District Attorney Jason Williams is standing in the window in his office, heading to a nearby prison.
Five prisoners were still on the LAM. They included one fugitive whose conviction on two counts of murder led two of his prosecutors to flee the nation. He had to request additional security for his office. And he knew that the uneasy residents wanted to be arrested by the man.
But Williams also focused on another issue. It’s about unraveling who may have supported the escape that he appears to be “internal work.” One prison maintenance worker has already been arrested.
I whispered into his ear when I spoke to USA Today on May 21 in a paneled office with leather sofas and political memorabilia. He quickly headed for the exit and overtook the detective who was working on the case of a fleeing prisoner. She handed him a miniature religious figure for protection.
Williams climbed behind the waiting Lincoln SUV to reach the vast Orleans Parish Jail, a prison run by the Orleans Parish Sheriff’s Office, and the huge Manhunt catalyst that set the city on its edge.
He was there to meet the New Orleans Police Crime Institute unit, where he was collecting evidence.
DA requires the sheriff to preserve evidence
That morning, Williams said he asked New Orleans Police whether the sheriff’s office had requested that crime lab staff have collected evidence including fingerprints and DNA. He was told there was no formal request.
“We are deeply concerned that an immediate request from the sheriff to our local crime lab has come in and we are not promptly requesting that all forensic evidence available there be review, document, preserved and collected,” he said.
His office also asked the sheriff to keep records such as emails and text messages with prison staff and contractors, as well as camera footage of the round-trip with prison staff and contractors, according to a copy of the request.
A spokesman for Sheriff Susan Hutson’s office did not immediately respond to a message from USA Today seeking comment.
However, Houston, who suspended his reelection campaign after his escape from prison, said in a statement on May 20th that he “has taken full accountability for this violation that occurred under my leadership. We took immediate action, including halting, arrests and full cooperation with the investigation of the General’s attorney.”
Already, three have been charged with helping them. A maintenance worker who is allegedly shut down the water pipes that encouraged the escape, and two women who were later accused of helping the escape with transportation and food.
The arrest affidavit for the maintenance worker said one of the prisoners threatened to stab him with a “shank” – a homemade knife.
Officials said the man fled by tearing the toilet and climbing a hole in the wall. They then slid onto the loading dock, took off their uniforms, reduced the walls, sprinted across Interstate 10, disappearing at night. However, it’s not before you leave an ocky message on a wall with the words “Just a Smile” written on it.
On May 21, Michael Kennedy, the lawyer for maintenance worker Sterling Williams, told USA Today he insisted he didn’t know the man was planning on running away.
Rather, he said that the client had told him he had responded to him to interfere with the toilet by a delegate, which he did not remember. That’s why he had to turn off the water. The threat of “shank” him was merely a tweet without instructions to help them get away, Kennedy said.
“He learned about escape when he got to work Friday morning,” Kennedy said.
Da is worried about his staff
As the Orleans Parish district attorney works to unravel the way prisoners have pulled away from their escape, and as Louisiana Attorney General and other agencies are taking on their reviews, an air of unrest is hanging over the city here as authorities still hunt five prisoners.
Williams is also worried.
The best fugitive is Derrick Groves, 27, who was convicted of two counts of second-degree murder and two counts of attempted second-degree murder in connection with the 2018 shooting at Mardi Gras. Groves is awaiting his first manslaughter sentence since October, according to a news release from the governor’s office.
After leaving the state, Williams and two colleagues attempted a second-degree murder case against Groves. Williams wouldn’t say if his office had a credible threat. However, potential danger led to two lawyers fleeing for their safety.
“They’re young. They have a family,” he said. “They don’t deserve to be in a situation.”
His office reached out to the victims and witnesses in the case of fugitives and found, “some of which they would like to move.” New Orleans is too small to be noticed, he said.
He is worried about the dangers he has since escaped.
For now, his work is being cut out for him. After a press conference outside the prison, Williams climbed into his SUV, and now the fallout from the ignorant escape was still at its peak.
